You seem to be very knowledegeable about JKD, and I have several questions for you. How was Bruce Lee as a grappler? Is grappling very important? Also, what do you feel is the best way or several ways to end a streetfight fast?

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Razwell:You seem to be very knowledegeable about JKD, and I have several questions for you. How was Bruce Lee as a grappler? Is grappling very important? Also, what do you feel is the best way or several ways to end a streetfight fast? [/QUOTE]

Iíll answer your questions one at a time.

1. Lee was not a great grappler. Heíd just started learning it somewhat from Lebell.

2. Grappling is CRITICALLY important. It is ONE HALF of the game of fighting.

3. Depends entirely on the scenario. The best way to end it is to leave the scene before it begins. Otherwise, it completely depends on your opponent, his actions and strengths/skills.

However, Iíll bite and give you a couple of scenarios:

1. The boxing blast (safer than the straight blast). With good timing, itís possible to completely blow your opponent off his base. This will help provide an avenue for escape.

3. The all around best way to end a fight from stand-up might be to; intercept your opponent, obtain a collar & elbow tie-up, hit a snap-down to a front headlock and fire knee strikes to the face (sounds like a lot of stuff to do, but really isnít). Knee strikes to the face are going to provide the best chance of a knock-out (donít want to hit with our fists on the street with KO power).

It's a lot like the last technique (no. 3) but when you snap the head down, you move your arm underneath and do a move similar to a pancake, only his head is caught underneath your arm. It's called a crucifix (you may already know this one). Once you're turning the crucifix, you just let your body weight drop. This could easily destroy the vertibrate.

2. Grappling is CRITICALLY important. It is ONE HALF of the game of fighting.

3. The all around best way to end a fight from stand-up might be to; intercept your opponent, obtain a collar & elbow tie-up, hit a snap-down to a front headlock and fire knee strikes to the face (sounds like a lot of stuff to do, but really isnít). Knee strikes to the face are going to provide the best chance of a knock-out (donít want to hit with our fists on the street with KO power).

-John[/QUOTE]

id have to disagree with these 2 points...

firstly, grappling is tremendously important in fighting but in terms of MMA fighting or street fighting someone with grappling skills. for the average street scenario against a non-MA, grappling should not be a factor bc you will/ should end the confrontation within seconds through a blast of strikes. ive had my fair share of street situations and have only ended on the ground twice..once against a boxer who basically KOd me, and another time against a very large bouncer who tried to bear hug me....every other situation ive been in in my entire life as a trained MA (not including fighting as a young child), has ended quickly with me on my feet. while i have tremendous respect for the art of grappling, it is presumptuous and inaccurate to claim that it comprises 1/2 of the gameof fighting since the game of fighting is populated with players who dont know how to play the game at all...

secondly, knees to the head are a great way to end fights quickly but i wouldnt get there by intercepting and then using a collar or elbow grip bc it is very difficult to land hard knees to the head unless your opponent is at least somewhat incapacitated ie. stunned...otherwise he will be raising his head or moving it to the side and your knees will not be effective. knees to the head should be preceded by some sort of blow or combination of blows to the head and THEN grab your opponents head by the HAIR and start smashing your knees into his face. lead punches before knees will allow you to land at least 1 extremely hard knee to the face which will in turn allow you to start rapid fire blasting his face and the fight quickly ends...

[QUOTE]Originally posted by 1st Round KO: id have to disagree with these 2 points...

firstly, grappling is tremendously important in fighting but in terms of MMA fighting or street fighting someone with grappling skills. for the average street scenario against a non-MA, grappling should not be a factor bc you will/ should end the confrontation within seconds through a blast of strikes. [/QUOTE]

Would, should, could....ah yes. I agree. I SHOULD be a millionaire as well and I WOULD be if someone COULD just hand a million bucks to me. Fact is, life isnít all nice and tidy like that, giving us everything that we think we should have. In other words, life has a way of not cooperating with our plans. If our plan is to keep everything standing and to just end confrontations with a ďblast of strikesĒ as you say, then surely as Iím sitting here typing Ė that will be the actual LAST thing that happens.

The truth is, you wonít be given the luxury of determining which range youíll find yourself fighting out of. What you DONíT KNOW is how youíll be beaten. Donít know grappling? Youíll be beaten by grappling. Why else would I say that itís so critical?

[QUOTE]Originally posted by 1st Round KO:ive had my fair share of street situations and have only ended on the ground twice..once against a boxer who basically KOd me, and another time against a very large bouncer who tried to bear hug me....every other situation ive been in in my entire life as a trained MA (not including fighting as a young child), has ended quickly with me on my feet.[/QUOTE]

Consider yourself fortunate that your opponents all sucked and were sh*t poor fighters. Luck IS a good thing to have on our sides when possible. Congratulations for you there!

[QUOTE]Originally posted by 1st Round KO:while i have tremendous respect for the art of grappling, it is presumptuous and inaccurate to claim that it comprises 1/2 of the gameof fighting since the game of fighting is populated with players who dont know how to play the game at all...[/QUOTE]

It isnít presumptuous at all, itís a FACT that can be both explained and demonstrated. Itís self-evident to those without predetermined definitions and agendas.

Striking (regardless of style or method) is one half of fighting. Donít care if itís boxing or Dim Mak. The other half is grappling and again, I donít care if itís aikido, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu or Eagle Claw kung fu. This is just simple common sense Ė which never fails to be either simple or common.

However, youíre certainly becoming VERY presumptuous when you begin mentioning, ďthe game of fighting is populated with players who dont know how to play the game at all...Ē. Those kind of assumptions can lead to high dental bills.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by 1st Round KO:secondly, knees to the head are a great way to end fights quickly but i wouldnt get there by intercepting and then using a collar or elbow grip bc it is very difficult to land hard knees to the head unless your opponent is at least somewhat incapacitated ie. stunned...otherwise he will be raising his head or moving it to the side and your knees will not be effective. [/QUOTE]

You completely inexperienced when it comes to front headlocks judging from that last post. Controlling positions are something you have a slight need to understand before you go thinking you can ďjust raise your head out ofĒ as you mentioned. Itís not hard to land knees to the head at ALL from such a position. Nor is it hard to obtain such a position. But itís better demonstrated than just TALKED about.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by 1st Round KO:knees to the head should be preceded by some sort of blow or combination of blows to the head and THEN grab your opponents head by the HAIR and start smashing your knees into his face. [/QUOTE]

Thatís all good if heís got hair to begin with, but such moves go right to sh*t when itís not there! Moves like that which are based on some ďpre-existing conditionĒ just plain **** . I would rather have a thorough understanding of grappling, but there we go again talking about the importance of that Ė which is why I said it was so critical to begin with.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by 1st Round KO:lead punches before knees will allow you to land at least 1 extremely hard knee to the face which will in turn allow you to start rapid fire blasting his face and the fight quickly ends...[/QUOTE]

You HOPE it will quickly end. Thatís not always the case when you factor in pain thresholds and the adrenaline dump. People have been known to walk away from plane crashes. Sometimes little pesky punches just donít do the trick if you follow my meaning.

.....But, how do punches set up knees to the face anyway unless you plan on JUMPING there?

I see the value in grappling, in a crowded area. The fight will be broken up before someone can hurt you, if you are good at it.

Even if it is one on one - you don't know who is around, and who their mates are. Also, being on the ground, your getaway time would be alot slower.

"Consider yourself fortunate that your opponents all sucked and were sh*t poor fighters. Luck IS a good thing to have on our sides when possible. Congratulations for you there!"

Isn't that a bit presumptuous? It's an incentive to keep on training, to remain better and and have the initiative. Did you fight them?

"Striking (regardless of style or method) is one half of fighting. Donít care if itís boxing or Dim Mak. The other half is grappling and again, I donít care if itís aikido, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu or Eagle Claw kung fu. This is just simple common sense Ė which never fails to be either simple or common."

I'd say it's a third - and my lack of skill with weapons and mediocre grappling worry me. But they are getting better. paticulalry my defenses to shooting and takedowns. I still have problems when big guys put me in a head control.

Front headlocks - I use them in a transitionary way, as a set up to striking. Knees are also easy to counter if you are wrapped up. Striking the top of the head is more liekly to work.

"Thatís all good if heís got hair to begin with, but such moves go right to sh*t when itís not there! Moves like that which are based on some ďpre-existing conditionĒ just plain **** . I would rather have a thorough understanding of grappling, but there we go again talking about the importance of that Ė which is why I said it was so critical to begin with."

Most people have hair, so it's sensible. Eyes, ears, sternomastocloid, choke on base of skull, or hold them in against the body with the arm.

"You HOPE it will quickly end. Thatís not always the case when you factor in pain thresholds and the adrenaline dump. People have been known to walk away from plane crashes. Sometimes little pesky punches just donít do the trick if you follow my meaning"

People do not walk away from plane crashes. If it ever happens, it's freak occurence and a consequcne of them being lucky enough not to die on impact, not because they pump themselves up with macho bullshit, drugs or have experienced plance crashes before.

Pain is why many professional fighters lose. How many are KO'd outright? Either it is too painful to fight back, they are bludgeoned or they can't take the pain of pushing themselves harder than the opponent. If a KO doesn't work, what does? Broken bones? M1911? The techniques that are pain restrainst lead to breaks. If you can punch someone hard enough to KO them, you can break ribs, sternums and spines to stop them breathing. I've done it accidentally. While point fighting.

".....But, how do punches set up knees to the face anyway unless you plan on JUMPING there?"

Don't play the fool when you've been in the game for 25 years. You damn well know how.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Mark Hill:I see the value in grappling, in a crowded area. The fight will be broken up before someone can hurt you, if you are good at it.[/QUOTE]

Why do people always think that others will automatically jump in when fight hits the ground or that, the guy who took his opponent down will NOT be a part of a crowd himself? These are just weird thoughts that people CONTINUOUSLY have. Itís always struck me as a bit odd. Another thing people have the tendency to think is that others wonít jump in if the fight is kept standing. Odd stuff here folksÖ

Of the various fights I have witnessed that hit the ground, no one came in to help one side beat the other. Not one TIME! If anything, people come in to break fights up.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Mark Hill:Even if it is one on one - you don't know who is around, and who their mates are. Also, being on the ground, your getaway time would be alot slower. [/QUOTE]

And yet ANOTHER odd thing that people have a tendency to think is, that theyíll have a CHOICE in which range theyíll be fighting. This is truly bizarre to me!

Itís a reasonable point to say that you donít know who else is around (why are we always fighting outside and in strange places???) and that getaway time is slower. This is why circumstances dictate tactics, etc. Tell what that means in this scenario Ė if some guy ďjumps out of the shadowsĒ in some strange place to take a punch at me (why he would do this is beyond me without even knowing me), Iím just going to run away. Thatís if I have the reaction time to do so naturally. If I DONíT have the reaction time necessary, then itís just on and whatever happens, happens. If I didnít have the reaction time, itís a good possibility that Iíll end up on the ground anyway. Even if not, Iím only doing whatever is necessary to break away and run. Iím not worried about cowardice.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Mark Hill:"Consider yourself fortunate that your opponents all sucked and were sh*t poor fighters. Luck IS a good thing to have on our sides when possible. Congratulations for you there!"

Isn't that a bit presumptuous? It's an incentive to keep on training, to remain better and and have the initiative. Did you fight them?[/QUOTE]

Sure itís incentive, but itís plain ARROGANCE to always think that weíre (martial artists) the best fighters walking the earth. That is the ULTIMATE in underestimating oneís opponents.

There are a LOT of people training these days! Just because theyíre fellow martial artists doesnít mean that theyíre automatically going to ďbe on our sideĒ when sh*t breaks out. You canít stop and say, ďHey wait, I noticed that CAT STANCE you just dropped down into Ė ya know, I am a martial artist too!Ē Then the other guy says, ďREALLY?! Why donít we go have a drink and talk about kata?Ē

Oh wait, that might actually occur between two classical stylistsÖ.. JUST KIDDING FOLKS! Thatís JUST a joke.

Anyway, seeing as how we donít just pull our martial arts club card out of our wallets and flash people with it to get them to calm down -- we could end up fighting ANYONE, trained or not. Who really CARES if they are untrained? This is the fallacy of so many martial artists who donít actually engage. They always think that the untrained are going to be push-overs. THIS isnít always the case. There are people out there with INSANE attributes who simply donít NEED martial arts. Just because a guy knows ďching chang chongĒ doesnít mean that heís the automatic favorite!

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Mark Hill:"Striking (regardless of style or method) is one half of fighting. Donít care if itís boxing or Dim Mak. The other half is grappling and again, I donít care if itís aikido, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu or Eagle Claw kung fu. This is just simple common sense Ė which never fails to be either simple or common."

I'd say it's a third - and my lack of skill with weapons and mediocre grappling worry me. But they are getting better. paticulalry my defenses to shooting and takedowns. I still have problems when big guys put me in a head control.[/QUOTE]

Weapons being a third?? Iíll buy that. I was just thinking in terms of empty hand, human to human conflict, but Iíll buy that.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Mark Hill:Front headlocks - I use them in a transitionary way, as a set up to striking. Knees are also easy to counter if you are wrapped up. Striking the top of the head is more liekly to work.[/QUOTE]

I can see how you might use a front headlock as a transitional position, but I will keep one as long as itís being fruitful (in other words, as long as Iím raining unanswered shots into the guys cranium Iím going to keep it. Knees have a way of getting in there, even if the guy is blocking them. They tend to get in. They also get easier to land once youíve hit him with one. The second one is easier than the first. The third is easier than the second, and so on.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Mark Hill:"Thatís all good if heís got hair to begin with, but such moves go right to sh*t when itís not there! Moves like that which are based on some ďpre-existing conditionĒ just plain **** . I would rather have a thorough understanding of grappling, but there we go again talking about the importance of that Ė which is why I said it was so critical to begin with."

Most people have hair, so it's sensible. Eyes, ears, sternomastocloid, choke on base of skull, or hold them in against the body with the arm.[/QUOTE]

Most people do have some hair Ė except for a lot of really tough guys that fight and look for trouble (target audience in other words). These people KNOW that hair grabbing occurs and so chose to shave their heads to keep it from being a factor. Yours truly is one of them (although I donít go looking for trouble). I prefer a neck tie to a hair grab anyway. It allows me to control my opponent with our without hair.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Mark Hill:

"You HOPE it will quickly end. Thatís not always the case when you factor in pain thresholds and the adrenaline dump. People have been known to walk away from plane crashes. Sometimes little pesky punches just donít do the trick if you follow my meaning"

People do not walk away from plane crashes. If it ever happens, it's freak occurence and a consequcne of them being lucky enough not to die on impact, not because they pump themselves up with macho bullshit, drugs or have experienced plance crashes before.[/QUOTE]

What I said was that ďpeople have been known to walk away from plane crashesĒ and its a true statement HOWEVER you want to try and spin it. So, it is a fact that people can, do and will walk away from such crashes. Adrenaline is a powerful mother fíer.

Where did ďpumping themselves up with drugs and macho bullsh*t come from?

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Mark Hill:Pain is why many professional fighters lose. How many are KO'd outright? Either it is too painful to fight back, they are bludgeoned or they can't take the pain of pushing themselves harder than the opponent. If a KO doesn't work, what does? Broken bones? M1911? The techniques that are pain restrainst lead to breaks. If you can punch someone hard enough to KO them, you can break ribs, sternums and spines to stop them breathing. I've done it accidentally. While point fighting.[/QUOTE]

If you want to believe that fighters just keel over because of pain, be my guest. I can share with you many stories where people DID NOT do such a thing. What would that prove though? That pain shouldnít be a factor that you should take into consideration and your primary fight-stopping agent. Sure, it might stop some folks and if so thatís great! But I know of too many that just wonít quit.

I know PERSONALLY of a fighter that got his forearm broken blocking a punch in a pro fight. Wanna guess what happened? He won that fight via knock out.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Mark Hill:".....But, how do punches set up knees to the face anyway unless you plan on JUMPING there?"

Don't play the fool when you've been in the game for 25 years. You damn well know how.[/QUOTE]

Know Iím sorry, but I donít see how punches to the face or even the body will set up knees. Oh sure, I know PLENTY of ways in which this will happen THEORETICALLYÖ.but I donít know as many ways that such things occur in the REAL WORLD. Believe me, Iím one who looks to put in his knees when possible and Iím always awaiting such an opportunity. Now in real fights, Iíve seen this done and have learned ways to do this out of real experience. Iíve yet to see knees to the face which are set up directly by punching.

jkogas...obviously you have never seen a muay thai match...knees are set up with punches as a basic technique....and trust me, muay thai considers knees as a fundamental technique.

you claim to be an experienced REAL fighter but your rhetoric raises some questions. if you end up on the ground in most of your street fights then im sorry but your fighting skills are sub-standard. the majority of the population are unskilled in fighting and if they are taking you down then you need to re-examine your training.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by 1st Round KO:jkogas...obviously you have never seen a muay thai match...knees are set up with punches as a basic technique....and trust me, muay thai considers knees as a fundamental technique.[/QUOTE]

Obviously, you have never seen a MMA match.

When was the last time you ever saw punches set up a knee to the face? Aside from that, TELL me how itís done. Trust me, I understand muay Thai. Itís an element of the MMA approach. Iíve also thrown punches before as well as knees. Now, please do explain that set up to me.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by 1st Round KO:you claim to be an experienced REAL fighter but your rhetoric raises some questions. if you end up on the ground in most of your street fights then im sorry but your fighting skills are sub-standard. [/QUOTE]

What I said was that you cannot predict from which range youíll be fighting because YOU donít always have that choice. Thatís not debatable. You CAN be surprised for example, because anything is possible. You can also meet up with some actual quality opponents, something which I think has been lacking from your ďexperienceĒ thus far I might add. Have you never encountered a world-class wrestler? They can put you down whether you want to go down or not.

Step out from the dojo every once and a while. Itís a different world out there.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by 1st Round KO:the majority of the population are unskilled in fighting and if they are taking you down then you need to re-examine your training.

no disrespect...i must be misinterpreting your post.[/QUOTE]

I never said that I was being taken down, but I also am not arrogant enough to realize that I could be taken down. Thatís because of several factors:

1. Iím not the greatest fighter walking the earth. There are people out there better than me and always will be. There are people out there better than you as well. Thatís something youíd better let slip under your gourd.

It is entirely within the realm of possibilities, that I COULD engage with a superior fighter. Is this something unfathomable to you? If in fact I DO end up engaged with a superior fighter, it IS entirely possible that he could take me down. Is this not making any sense? If not, why not?

2. I can be caught by surprise. Is this not possible within the realm of worst-case scenarios?

3. I can make mistakes. Making mistakes is what happens in the real world because no one is perfect. Itís all too human to screw up and being prepared for this is how we train. We donít train to ďalways be perfectĒ because thatís not possible. We donít train for best case scenarios because worst case scenarios happen and happen all the time. Thatís LIFE for ya. Life has a way of not cooperating with your plans.

4. Quality fighters understand takedowns and can perform them well. I train them against punching and kicking all the time. If I do, certainly others do as well. That means, if all you know is punching and kicking and run up against someone who knows punching, kicking AND takedowns, guess what happens?? Youíre going down.

Simple, common sense. Which again is apparently neither simple or common.

Punches don't lead into clinching and knees and elbows? What do you do, jump there, how DOES it work in a real fight? All of MY training partners must be chumps. What DO they put int he water in NC?

More fights stop than go on for pain. I don't beleive you will say pain makes people keep on going...something's got to give eventually. Then again, you can't hurt some people. Train fighters do keel over in pain. How many boxing "knock outs" are mentally and physically giving up rather than loss of consciousness?

PS

People don't walk away from plane crashes, or at least crashes where the planes fall out of the sky - I have seen grotesque coronial evidence of plane crash victims - who weren't burnt, but they looked like that. Their seatbelts cut them up. I know people have survived sky diving accidents. When you have that much dopamine and adrenaline, I don't know wether you can do much, especially if your spine is shattered. I know adrenaline works- I get shakes after any hard training session, for quite a while after. Pro football players have gone onto win championships with broken limbs etc.....

If the only viable attack is a choke, to be applied against skiled opponents ho looking for trouble, buy a handgun and a humvee. Don't go outside much either.

My punches hurt for two reasons - they hit hard enough to do damage, and I know where to hit. Tried breathing with cracked ribs? Horse steroids and PCP cannot make you impervious to difficulty in breathing. I don't think you can ignore the kind of pain grabbing and crushing the sternomastocloid, kneeing to the face and dropping an elbow to the base of the skull causes. Pain happens for a reason.